"Who is she?"
Kairen looked at the woman who was elegantly walking inside the training area.
"She is also a mage. A strong one! I'm sure she will be a greater help to you than us."
"Is she that great?"
Another mage came closer to them and said in a low voice.
"She is! She has a high position in Monster Hunting Division and is one of the best mages in SMF!"
"Oh!"
Maybe the woman sensed their gazes, cause she turned her head and looked at them. She observed the bunch of people who were staring at her while chattering one by one, then frowned her eyebrows and turned away.
"It will really be great if you could ask her for help."
"Yeah, I'm sure you will improve a lot if she helps you."
The female mage patted Kairen's back again.
"But first, you have to somehow get her attention or... get close to her... Well, that won't be easy."
Kairen titeld his head.
"I don't get it?"
The female mage got closer to him.
"She is one of those "Don't come near me or I'll kill you" types of people."
"...."
One of what?
Seeing Kairen's confused face, the female mage giggled and explained again.
"I mean; she is hard to approach. She isn't like these people around you who get friendly and help you out so easily."
Kairen looked at the faces of the people around him. They sure got close to him and helped him a lot so easily. Kairen didn't even know their names yet.
"She will probably not even talk to you, but it won't hurt to try once."
Kairen hesitatingly looked at the mages' faces.
"Do I really need her help?"
Kairen had terrible social skills. He himself couldn't get close to people easily. How was he supposed to get close to someone who was said to be hard to approach? He didn't want to do such an awkward and embarrassing thing.
"I personally suggest you seek help from her. She doesn't come here often, so you should decide quickly. It will be hard, but it's worth it."
Kairen thought about it for a moment. He really wanted to get better at magic, but he felt too nervous to go ask strangers for help.
"No, let's forget about it."
Kairen shook his head. There was no need to go so far as to seek her help. He could learn things slowly and step by step on his own.
Right. There was no need.
Kairen peeked at the woman again. She was standing in front of a line of training targets and casting a spell. Shiny symbols appeared around her. Kairen could clearly feel the movements of her mana. Her mana gathered at one point and then, a giant sword appeared in the air.
KWAK
The sword moved like a lightning and destroyed a whole row of the training targets.
"....."
Tap Tap Tap
The destroyed targets fell to the floor one by one. They were all neatly cut in half.
Kairen moved his gaze and looked at the single training target that was burning in front of him.
"...."
He looked at the woman again and then at his own magic's result.
'There is no need to...'
"Wow captain, that was really cool!"
"As expected from captain Neal!"
"That was really powerful."
People around her exclaimed in excitement. The woman's expression didn't change the slightest even though she had received people's attention and praise. She brushed back her long black hair and proceeded to cast another spell.
This time, a blazing fire was created in an instant. The fire spread around and burned the remnants of the training targets.
"...."
Kairen once again looked at his own training target. Looking at the fire spell of that woman... his magic that he was so proud of before now seemed... pathetic...
'I can train more on my own... There is no need to ask strangers...'
Kairen peeked at the woman again. She was now gathering all the ashes in a spot using wind magic and cleaning the area. She was using the wind only on the ashes and nothing more.
'How can she use wind magic on only those tiny ashes? It isn't possible!'
The wind created by a magic spell wasn't something you could control like that! How is she doing that?
Kairen looked at the mages around him that were all looking at Captain Neal.
'No, Kairen. You won't do such a thing. No matter how great her magic is... You...won't be tempted... She will reject you and you'll be left with so much embarrassment...'
You shouldn't be greedy! You shouldn't rush at things! You have to take your time to train and hone your skills. You will be a strong mage when the right time comes, so you should just try to do your best.
...
...
...
"Hello, captain Neal."
Kairen smiled broadly and puffed his chest. He stood in front of Captain Neal with a face that he tried to seem as friendly as possible.
He was told to smile when talking and keep a bright face. As it was a forced expression, he looked like a scammer at the moment but he didn't really care. This was the best he could do.
However, captain Neal didn't even look at him.
'Come on, you should answer me to proceed to the dialogues I had practiced!'
Kairen still stood there with a frozen smile on his face. He could see the bunch of mages that were cheering him up in the distance.
"Hello, captain Neal."
"...."
She didn't answer him again and continued to cast her spells.
"Um... please hello..."
"What is it?"
Captain Neal glared at him with a disgusted face.
'I regret it already... I want to go back. I want to go baaackk aopwjdpoawd'
"Ahem... Can we please talk for a moment?"
"No."
"...."
"Go away."
She turned away and proceeded to cast her spell. Kairen stood there and looked pathetically at the woman. He turned towards the other mages. They were all looking at him while signaling him to continue with their hands.
'HELP.'
Kairen moved a step forward while biting his lip and fidgeting with his fingers.
"Um, I heard you were a great mage. Your magic from earlier was so strong."
"So?"
"C-can you please help me with my magic a little bit?"
"No."
She completed her spell at that moment. This time, countless shiny knives appeared in the air and attacked the new targets. The targets were cut and torn apart in an instant.
"I have to concentrate. Leave."
"....."
Seeing him not move, she turned and glared at him angrily. Kairen lowered his head at her gaze and moved away pitifully with a sore expression.
'How can she be like that? She didn't even listen to me!'
Kairen walked towards the other mages with his head still down.
"Don't worry man, she is always like that."
"You still did a great job."
As soon as he arrived at where the other mages were waiting for him, all of them started to comfort and soothe him.
"Thanks."
'Stupid woman. Who do you think you are? Huh? Idiot!'
Kairen cursed internally and picked up another training target. He started casting a spell angrily. His fireball hit the target and set it on fire.
'I will learn everything by myself!'
He was filled with anger and embarrassment. He wanted to lock himself up in his room and don't come out of it for three days. That woman was just too rude. He didn't deserve to be treated like that!
***
-T-this is so unjust that I want to curse you! I can't believe it! SMF's training ground?… oh boy!
"It is just too large. There is nothing more to it."
-Sigh. Of course, you wouldn't know how a great place that training ground is. You haven't seen the place I am using now. Anyway, I called to tell you that you could come to where I go to practice if you haven't found anywhere yet… but it now seems like a joke.
Serria said those last words with a sad voice.
"Thank you."
-Ok then. Keep training, the test is just around the corner. See you in three days.
"Yes. See you."
Kairen hung up the phone as soon as he said that. Serria had called him about half an hour ago and had been talking nonstop since then. Kairen touched his numb ear and lay down on his bed.
"Was it uncle's friend?"
"Yes."
Kairen causally answered Ariyan. The kid continued to chew his cookie and swing his legs silently after that short answer. Kairen looked at the boy that was sitting on top of his bed for a moment then opened the phone's search screen.
'Articles about mana control... controlling mana... saving up mana...'
He searched for any articles related to mana control.
'Why go ask help from a selfish asshole when you have the great power of the mighty Internet by your side?!'
That's right. You should never ask anything when you can just search it on the internet!